Scam Secrets

Do you scan QR codes? Since Covid, they've become embedded in many aspects of our lives. But perhaps we're a bit too trusting of them.
On this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood hear how criminals are finding different ways to exploit those little black and white squares.
Two Scam Secrets listeners give their experience - Les, who scanned a QR code while trying to pay for parking on a trip to the coast - and Keith, who used a QR scanner app he'd downloaded to try to buy a classic car book.
Both of them ended up with criminals taking money from their bank accounts in monthly chunks.
Professor Filipo Sharevski of DePaul University has studied the malicious use of QR codes. He tells Scam Secrets how they're increasingly used in emails to disguise phishing links - a technique known as quishing.
Prof Sharevski also describes his experiments testing the public's willingness to scan QR codes when they're out and about. You might think twice next time you encounter one.
Remember you can get in touch with the programme and tell us about the scame you want us to investigate - scamsecrets@bbc.co.uk
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

What really happens when you report a scam?
In this special episode, Shari takes a trip behind the scenes at the fraud reporting service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For years, this was called Action Fraud - and victims often complained about the way they were dealt with when they tried to report what had happened to them.
Since the start of the year, there's been a new system in place. It's called Report Fraud, and the people in charge say it's a totally different operation.
So we went to check it out. With total losses from fraud estimated at well over a billion pounds last year, and scammers constantly evolving their techniques using the latest technology, there's never a quiet day.
Shari meets call handlers and victim support officers who are on the front line speaking to vulnerable victims, police officers trying to shut down scam sites - and puts listener questions to the overall boss of Report Fraud.
For this episode, she's joined by Professor Mark Button from Portsmouth University, a fraud specialist who has researched the experience of fraud victims in the UK.
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

Have you ever been desperately trying to contact a company to complain about shoddy service? Or needed to cut through the automated responses and speak to a human who can help? Most of us have - and the criminals have latched onto it.
Scam Secrets takes a journey into the world of customer service scams. Criminals pose on social media as respected brands, going out of their way to help. They'll even offer a refund - but the money only goes in one direction. Shari, Lis and Alex grab their red flags and hear from a listener whose attempts to complain about a parcel delivery led her right into the grip of criminals. They hear about the vast scale of this type of scam - researchers found 350,000 fake accounts impersonating 2,600 brands - and discuss the best ways to avoid getting scammed while you're trying to complain.
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

Scam Secrets is back with a close look at deepfakes. Lots of the stories we hear involve victims being lured into scams by fake videos or photos of trusted people. Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood hear what happened when a listener confronted the man stealing from her mother during a live video call where he was pretending to be her lover. YouTube scam-baiter Jim Browning joins the programme to talk about the techniques he uses to unmask criminals hiding behind deepfakes - and give a scary glimpse into the future.
Remember you can email the show at scamsecrets@bbc.co.uk
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

An old friend is posting about how well his investments are doing - and he's offering you the chance to get involved too. Would you know what to do?
In this final episode of the series, the Scam Secrets team unpick a fraud which ripped through a group of close mates. One by one, their Instagram accounts were infiltrated as, believing they were chatting to a friend, they handed over their login details, hoping to join a crypto investment scheme. But that gave the criminals all they needed to take over the account and use it as a platform to try the same trick on all their followers.
It's a modern day pyramid scheme that plays on the victims' desire to make money and their trust in their friends.
Scam Secrets will be back later in the year. In the meantime, you can contact the team at scamsecrets@bbc.co.uk.
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY